Toney was the most skilled. Hopkins was 100 times more dedicated. Prime for Prime I'd favour Toney, but wouldn't bet a penny on it. Toney's huge weight jumps stopped the fight from happening. By the time Hopkins was a household name Toney was at CW
I remember watching an interview with hopkins and he was going on about how he is a student of the game/old school and said he has watched every James Toney fight avaliable. Freddie Roach said he is the most skilled fighter he has ever worked with, and also the most laziest. Pretty impressive.
Imagine toney with hopkins dedication. to bad they never fough though, big overachiever vs big underachiever, would have been a great fight.
Tough one, but I vote Hopkins cause hes a bit more versatile. Toney didnt make adjustments as well as Hopkins which led to most of his losses and fights being closer than they should have been
Toney was a more skilled in-fighter. Hopkins was more versatile and more skilled integrating his offense and defense with movement.
This topic comes up from time to time..and always garners some good discussion. And everytime there is talk of dedication...That if Toney had Nard's dedication he would have been a much greater fighter than Hopkins. But to me dedication is more than just being disciplined and staying fit..it's dedication to learning your craft. Which I feel Hopkins did better...he developed his style and defense to allow him to have success against a range of opponents well into his 40's. Whereas I think Toney, as the more talented fighter, relied a little more on his god given gifts of an amazingly sturdy chin, excellent eye for dodging punches and a more damaging punch. Both do certain things better than the other. I think Hopkins is more versatile and little bit more skilled, I think Toney is a little bit more gifted...At the same time I think James is a very skilled operator and Nard is a great natural talent. But I've seen it argued the other way so convincingly I think it just comes down your own views on the definition of skilled.
Some highlight videos for those wanting to see some footage of them during their better days. It's clear watching these that both of them aren't even close to what they once were - which shouldn't come as any surprise as they're both approaching their 200th birthdays. Toney is shot and Hopkins is badly faded. [YT]vD4Ku-4BR9s[/YT] [YT]Akkc7KSGBto[/YT]
They actually were supposed to fight in 2003 following Toney-Jirov and Hopkins-Hakkar. Hopkins was to jump from 160 to 190. There were some press conferences and it even made the cover of The Ring. Not sure who would've won that matchup, but I pick Hopkins to win a close decision at 160 and 168 (I'm sure Hopkins would've been comfortable at that weight). Two great crafstmen, Toney is more effective when his opponent is aggressive, leaving his opportunities to counter. Hopkins is an intelligent fighter and would do his best to neutralize Toney's biggest strengths. I think he uses his quicker feet to be on the move a lot and try to make Toney come after him. B-Hop in a 7-5, 8-4 type fight.
